My Room

"If you begin the day with love in your heart, peace in your nerves, and truth in your mind, you not only benefit by their presence but also bring them to others, to your family and friends, and to all those whose destiny draws across your path that day."
Author Unknown

Welcome to my haven. My room... or as Virginia Woolf would say... a room of my own. Unlike my room in my real house, this one has no filing cabinets and no textbooks for preparing lesson plans. This room is the room that speaks to my soul. It is the room of which I dream. Do you see my decor... it is full of light and beauty. Do you see the candles flickering in front of the wall-sized, golden-framed mirror? Smell the light, airy scent of Summerhill? See the bench in front of the picture window that overlooks the pond outside? It is a place of beauty, peace, joy, and serenity. It is where I go to enjoy the finer things of my life. Where I read poetry, listen to Pavarotti and Mozart. It is where I let the troubled voices of each day be hushed by the soft, melodic sound of my inner voice... or the beauty of a poem.

Come on in... don't be nervous or shy. Yes.. this is my haven... my sanctuary... but the door is always open to all who are seeking a place for their soul.

I truly believe that each one of us needs a room like this... each one of us needs to take time each day to reach deep within ourselves and draw out the beautiful person that lives there. Not enough of us do that. I, myself, am as guilty as anyone. We become wrapped up in the daily living... in the mundane. We forget to look for beauty in ourselves, in our world, and in the people around us. And isn't that exactly what is wrong with our world today? Would we be so quick to destroy our Earth, if we spent time each day recognizing her beauty? Would we be shooting each other down in the streets, if we were making it a habit to remember how precious life is and noticing each others enchantments? I can hardly believe we would. If we are determined to see the good in others, the beauty in our world, and the joy within ourselves, we will find these things in the most remarkable places. Once we find them, we will work to keep them. Our minds work in such a way as to enable us to make anything we visualize come true.

So how do we do this? How do we control what we see, hear, and feel? The answer is actually so simple as to seem trivial. It is all a matter of focus. The bottom line is: if we put enough good things into our minds, good things will start coming out.

I feel that we need to start by having a sense of faith and a connection with our Creator. I am not saying that we all have to be religious fanatics... although I know many people who are devoutly Christian and it always seems to give them a sense of peace... but that we have to have some connection with Him. I do not go to church every Sunday. I don't even have a home church, but I do have a connection with my God. I know who He is. I know that He loves me in such an unconditional way that even when I doubt Him, He never fails to do what is best for me. There is a great comfort in that. I came from a family that puts great strings (cables, really) on love. For them love is conditional... "as long as you are doing things my way, I will love you." That is a very hard way to live. It is a great comfort to me to know that my God is not like that. His motto is..."I love you no matter how you forsake me." Even when I feel as though He doesn't love me... that He has stacked the deck against me... I know deep within that when I come to my senses He will be there loving me every bit as much as before. How can anyone not feel a certain sense of peace in that?

I think we then need to move from there to looking at our immediate environment and our physiology... to look at the things with which we have surrounded ourselves as well as the way we hold our body. I think this is as important as looking within... maybe even more. The things we have around us and our body language affect our thoughts and emotions to such a degree as to not just influence them, but to actually control them. Look around you right now. Do the things you see create feelings of joy? Or Despare? What kind of colors do you have around you? What kind of music do you listen to? Is it calming and peaceful? Or is it loud and banging and full of lyrics recounting the injustices of the world? How about the way you carry yourself? Do you always slouch? Do you smile a lot? Do you frown? By simply altering the things that we see, and the ways in which we move our bodies, on a consistent basis we can alter our thoughts... our emotions. Here again, I am not saying we must give up everything that is remotely dark or dreary (after all... I do read Stephen King) or that we can never collapse into a chair exhausted, but we need a balance. We need to be sure that we consciously spend as much time nurturing our need for peace, joy and light as we unconsciously spend nurturing our darker sides. So today, make it a point to notice something beautiful: listen to the birds, watch the leaves swaying in the breeze, listen to a child laugh, pay extra attention to the aromas of a homecooked meal, open the windows and blinds, smile at someone for no reason, quicken your step a little, lift your head high....

The natural step from there is to really begin to look within. We need to begin to consciously notice what beliefs we have that determine our expectations in life. Many people have beliefs that limit them... "I don't deserve this" is what they believe. Or... "I can't do that. I just don't have what it takes." Or any one of a hundred other beliefs ("I'm too fat" "I'm too skinny" "I'm too tall" "I'm too short" "I have a disability" "I have TOO MUCH ability" "I have a mental illness" "I'm addicted"). But the fact of the matter is, nothing is a liability unless you make it one. The way to counteract these beliefs is through visualization. Basically, your mind doesn't know the difference between the truth and a lie. If you tell your mind often enough that you are thin, then your mind will find a way to make it come true. If it is something that your mind cannot change (like your height or skin color or gender) then you must tell your brain that it is not a liability, but an asset. You don't even have to believe it. Just say it. Your mind will do the rest. Our minds have an incredibly strong need to avoid pain and gain pleasure. If you are not happy where you are, then your mind is in pain. If you offer it a pleasurable alternative, it will grasp on to it with all its might... and that is a considerable amount. Begin to bring beauty and pleasure into your life... and enjoy the wonderous change IT will bring to you.
Go into my dream room and you will see some of the beautiful landscapes that always seem to speak to my soul. These pistures will change periodically... so check in often. I have also made a link to my personal favorite visualization.